A police officer was turned away from a fast food restaurant in Texas because of his gun.

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KTRK reports a Friendswood police detective was dressed in plain clothes when he entered a Whataburger Thursday morning. He displayed his gun and his badge on his side.

The manager turned the officer away because he was openly carrying a weapon. The detective tried to explain that he was a law enforcement officer, but the manager held firm.

News of the officer being turned away spread quickly and angered residents.

"I come here all the time and the police officers are here eating, but this time they refused that detective and they shouldn't have done that," Debi Wrightmire said.

Some customers have even considered boycotting the chain.

"I love Whataburger. I don't know if I can boycott them. It's the closest one to my house, but I would like to see some adjustments to their policy. This shouldn't happen again at any other location," Ryan Thetford said.

Whataburger issued a statement that reads:

This was an unfortunate misunderstanding of our open carry policy, and we've reached out to the detective because we want to make this right. Our company policy allows law enforcement with proper identification to open carry at our restaurants, and we'll be reinforcing this policy with employees through additional training. We've also been in contact with the Friendswood Police Officers Association and are trying to get a hold of the detective to apologize for the misunderstanding. We want to make it clear that he and all law enforcement are welcome in our restaurants and we're proud to serve them.